After School Programs Can Develop Healthy Habits

This entry was posted on June 19, 2013 by LZX Team.

Past research has indicated that children from low-income neighborhoods are at higher risk of being obese and overweight than children from affluent neighborhoods. Health Canal reports on one study where the impact of poverty has been reduced through after school programming…

Findings from this study indicate that after-school programs have the potential to provide opportunities for enhanced physical activity and the development of healthy habits in children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families who may have limited access to nutritious foods and environments conducive to physical activity outside of school.

In addition, as approximately 60 percent of the students in the study were Asian-American, the study helps address the dearth of published research on childhood obesity among Asian-Americans. This is an important public health concern, given that Asian-Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the U.S., and the literature suggests that current definitions of obesity underestimate the disease risk among this subgroup, the study authors said.

It’s great to see the impact a program can have on helping build healthy habits.